You have joined
the club, worked hard at training and want to take part in Swimming Galas.
The first
stage for preparing to enter galas is to obtain Personal Best (PB) times for
the various for strokes and distances you want to swim.These are obtained at the Club Grand Prix and
Club Championships.
Normally, the
club enters swimmers in galas where swimmers compete against others of the same
or similar ages.The age span per event
is usually 1 or 2 years.In general, age
is age on the last day of a gala.
The list of
planned competitive galas is listed on the Competitions page of the web
site.If your swimmer is not available
for particularly galas, please let the Competitions Secretary know at least 8
weeks in advance, as entries have to be prepared at least 6 weeks before the
gala.
Galas are
identified as 'OPEN' or 'GRADED' and have entry time requirements for each
event.For an open event, a swimmer must
have a PB time faster than the specified entry time requirement.For the graded galas, a swimmer must have a PB
time slower than the specified entry time requirement.Graded galas are designed to give
opportunities for more swimmers to stand on the winners rostrum and be awarded
medals.
Based on
availability, PB times, event entry times and discussion with the Coaches, the
Competitions Secretary will submit Preliminary Entries to the Gala Organiser
for consideration. You will see these on the noticeboard and website listed as PROVISIONAL ENTRIES
Gala
Organisers accept entries for each event based on the fastest entry times to
fill the total spaces for each event e.g. for a 6 lane pool and 4 heats for an
event, the fastest 24 swimmers will be accepted. They may also select swimmers 25 & 26 as
reserves.
The ACCEPTED ENTRIES are notified to the Competitions Secretary who will post them on the
Web site Competitions page generally about 2 weeks in advance of the gala.They will also notify the parent/guardian of
the entries fees for the gala (generally about £3 to £5 per race) for payment
before the gala.
If a swimmer
knows in advance they will not be at a gala due to illness etc., please advise
the Competitions Secretary so they can be withdrawn.If not known until the day of the gala, let
the coach know and they will withdraw the entry before session.(These notifications allow reserves to get a
swim.)
At the gala,
events are seeded on PB times and swimmers participate with slower swimmers in
the first heat to faster in the last heat.Most galas have Heat Declared Winners (HDW) where the fastest swimmers
irrespective of heat are awarded the Medals.Some galas have Heats followed by Finals at the end of the session where
the 6 fastest swimmers from the Heats race for the Medals.
Occasionally,
gala organisers seed all swimmers on entry time for a specific stroke/distance
irrespective of age group.This lets
swimmers compete with others of a very similar ability in the race.Medals are awarded for HDWs in each age
group.(This means a fast young swimmer
can be last in their heat yet first for their age group and be awarded the Gold
Medal.)
In graded
galas, if a swimmer achieves a time much faster than the entry time
requirement, they will be awarded an “I swam Too Fast” item or “Speeding
Ticket” and will not be eligible for a medal.(The recorded time still counts for club records and future race
entries.)
The Club also
enters League events which are team competitions.The Coaches will select swimmers based on PB
times, age mix and team size required for each event.
Some Galas
use the term “Mini” in the title.Generally, these are for younger swimmers.
Some Galas
(generally national events) require “accredited” entry times.These are obtained at West District Events
and some Club Galas.
